……
Breakdown of kireru
cut
切
If you have seven swords, you can cut anything.
Usages of kireru
ガス が 切れた ので、 料理 が できない。gasu ga kireta node, ryouri ga dekinai.
The gas ran out, so I can't cook.
電池 が 切れた。denti ga kireta.
The battery ran out.
マッチ が 切れた ので 買い に 行きました。matti ga kireta node kai ni ikimasita.
I ran out of matches, so I went to buy some.
石鹸 が 切れた ので、 新しい の を 買いました。sekken ga kireta node, atarasii no wo kaimasita.
We ran out of soap, so I bought a new one.
Note how we're using の here instead of using the word 石鹸 twice.
Test yourself: What does kireru mean?
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“How do verb conjugations work in Japanese?”
Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".
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